Houston, TX. – Your teenagers will be out of school for the summer before you know it. Making sure they have meaningful job opportunities so they don’t get into trouble is a key part of Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner’s mission to make Houston streets safer.
“Hire Houston Youth” plays a critical role in the One Safe Houston initiative, aimed at reducing and preventing violent crime.
Launched in 2016 as part of Mayor Turner’s vision to reduce crime, Hire Houston Youth provides paid summer jobs and internships to 16- to 24-year-olds for eight weeks. Some of those opportunities are with the city but most are primarily with the private sector and in philanthropy.
It’s now part of One Safe Houston and it’s playing a pivotal role in crime prevention.
“It is working. It is effective,” Mayor Turner said.
Turner is inarguably a big fan of the One Safe Houston initiative, but he may not be its biggest champion.
“If we invest in youth, that’s what’s going to build our future,” Tommy Wan said.
Hire Houston Youth is giving young people, like Wan, the first opportunity to enter the workforce.
“A lot of the violent crime we see is with that youth group. So, giving people jobs and resources, it gives them things to do to occupy their time and keep them out of crime,” said Crystal Okorafour, One Safe Houston.
It’s having an impact. Mayor Turner and those involved with the program said it’s part of the reason why violent crime in Houston was down by eight percent last year.
“Anything that young people can access beyond a formal education is directly related to crime reduction,” said Olivera Jankovska, Hire Houston Youth.
Jankovska said many of the participants coming into the program are now focused on careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, also known as STEM.
“This is a trajectory toward a better future and better career opportunities,” she said.
In addition to job readiness training and apprenticeships, this year, for the first time, applicants now have access to free financial counseling. Last year, nearly 15,000 young people completed the program. The goal in 2023 is 20,000.
“If we have that sense of direction and we have that sense of opportunity, and that sense of ‘OK, I’m going to do this next to advance my path in this career,’ I think it’s very impactful for young people,” Wan said.
Wan added that interacting with community members has led to a better understanding of the world around him and hopes to one day work for a non-profit.
“Hire Houston Youth is kind of that guidance, a navigation pathway for us. For young people, that means a lot,” he said.
Other local organizations, like the YMCA of Houston, are also holding on-site job fairs through April 26 as they look to fill nearly 1.500 part-time positions this summer.
To learn more about Hire Houston Youth, click here.
To learn more about the YMCA summer job fairs, click here.